Cooties, Germs & Viruses...Oh My!

I’m not a germaphobe, but this is the time of year when the leaves are falling, the temperatures dropping, and everywhere you turn someone is sniffling. This is also the time of year when I take those handy bleach wipes and walk around cleaning door handles, telephones, remotes, light switches and just about anything I usually touch on a daily basis.

Recently reported, Kimberly-Clark sponsored a study in which Arizona Researcher Charles Gerba found that “71% of gas pump handles and 68% of corner mailbox handles were highly contaminated with germs most associated with a high risk of illness, as were 41% of ATM buttons and 43% of escalator rails.”

Does this really come as a surprise? I’m a commuter, and I'm able to take the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority system (called The T), and am well aware that if I touch the pole or railing that I’m most likely coming in contact with some type of germ. Touch at own risk, no surprise. What does surprise me is the lack of sneezing or coughing into an elbow/sleeve rather than the hand. Is the covering of our mouths with a hand such a hard habit to break that we can’t remember to use an elbow/sleeve? Would it be possible that if most people followed this simple step that the passing of germs and viruses in public locations wouldn’t be so easy?

For anyone who’s interested to learn what they can do to fight the flu this winter, check out what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports here. For my colleagues, when you see me around the office with bleach wipes, you know that I’m taking active steps for both of us to avoid the flu this winter.